Revisions to three MSFD manuals were carried out based on the results of three workshops. These revisions are annexed
in the requested format to this advice. Broadly these revisions have followed the templates and texts supplied to ICES
following discussion by the EU’s Working Group on Good Environmental Status. For Descriptors 3 and 4, no major
changes were made to the manuals, but revision was deeper for Descriptor 6 following comments from many EU
Member States. EU Member States (supported by the European Commission) asked also for advice on the next steps for
implementation of the Descriptors for the period 2015–2018

ICES considers that the proposed 2014 Long-Term Management Strategy (LTMS) for herring in the North Sea is precautionary.
This LTMS includes the introduction of an interannual quota flexibility of ±10% and a 10% constraint on the deviation from the
fishing mortality target, provided that SSB > Blim. ICES advises that any choice of Btrigger at or above 1.0 million tonnes in the
proposed 2014 LTMS for herring in the North Sea is considered to be precautionary.
ICES considers that the proposed Division IIIa TAC-setting procedure is precautionary provided it includes a requirement to
transfer at least 10% of the TAC from Division IIIa to the North Sea. With transfers of less than 10%, ICES considers that the
procedure is not precautionary.